Latin American and Caribbean Women's Health Network Women and Population Policies meeting. Women in decision-making
Gomez, A.
Women's health journal 1993(3): 51-53
1993
PMID: 12179725 Document Number: 265372
In July 1993, the Latin American and Caribbean Women's Health Network hosted a meeting on Women and Population Policies in preparation for the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). Among the nearly 70 women participants were representatives of women's health groups, development agencies, universities, and governments. The presentations at the meeting covered such topics as the need for sexual and reproductive rights to be explicitly addressed in legal instruments, the work of nongovernmental organizations in promoting the right to health, efforts to open debate about abortion and restore legal therapeutic abortion, antinatalist policies which have been adopted without the inclusion of the views of women, ways in which women have participated in preparing for the ICPD, and "North versus South" demographic policies. Participants reached consensus on the need to 1) base population policies on principles of social justice and equity, 2) clearly define reproductive and sexual rights, 3) achieve guarantees of reproductive and sexual rights, 4) empower women, and 5) build alliances with those involved in formulating population policies. Participants also agreed to ask the Secretary General of the ICPD to allow the women's health movement to have the broadest participation possible in the ICPD.